The Six Day War began on the morning of June 5 with a coordinated surprise attack on the military airports of Egypt and later of Syria, Jordan and Iraq. Most of the enemy planes were destroyed on the ground.

All Israel's intelligence bodies had been preparing for such an operation for years, and made a key contribution to the military achievements, especially the intelligence departments, SIGINT and HUMINT. 

The success of the operation gave the IDF air superiority, which allowed the ground forces to operate in the Sinai Peninsula, the West Bank and the Golan Heights. Israel's destruction of the enemy's planes on the ground was one of the most successful air operations in military history,  and is considered a key move in Israel's winning the Six Day War.